December 2004
By Vincent M. Cramer
Mobilize Your Refrigerator Magnets
Release the Energy and Innovation in Your Organization
Corporations Are Like Refrigerators
There may be tens of thousands of companies, but they can be grouped into a manageable number of industry categories. Likewise, there are tens of millions of refrigerators and they can also be grouped into specific categories. Within a category − top freezer, bottom freezer, side-by-side—most refrigerators look the same. Yet while refrigerators lack diversity, once they arrive in a household they do not lack individuality. If you took a photo of your refrigerator and combined it with photos of 99 similar refrigerators, the probability is likely 100% that you could correctly identify your own. Like a mother knows her child, we know our refrigerators. That is because we have littered the door with our unique brand of graffiti.
Snowflakes, Humans and Refrigerator Magnets
We are steadfast in our knowledge that no two snowflakes are identical. It sounds preposterous when you consider that all snowflakes have the same general characteristics and that each and every one is a six-sided ice crystal. Although snowflakes can be grouped by similar characteristics, individual uniqueness is based in fact. Another fact is that no two individuals are identical, including identical twins and triplets. That is the epitome of diversity and individuality.
Refrigerator magnets may lack the degree of diversity and uniqueness possessed by snowflakes and humans, but they possess many similarities. At its core, the magnet has a force that it exerts on the things around it. It attracts some and repels others. It is attracted to some and repelled by others.
After acquiring various magnets, we don’t give much thought to how they came to reside on our refrigerator. They are simply MY refrigerator magnets. Building an organization is quite similar to acquiring refrigerator magnets. Employees join a corporation through various means, but once an individual is on the team, the relevance and importance of the how and why the employee came into the organization fades away. The important point is that they are in MY organization.
More Than Just a Smiley Face
All refrigerator magnets are not created equal. Some are large while others are quite small. Some have a strong magnetic field while others are weak. Some are utilitarian while others are purely decorative. Some refrigerator magnets are complete by themselves—they may contain a phone number, emergency information or a memento. Some magnets have supportive roles and are associated with other items. Other magnets require additional elements in order to achieve their value, such as an attached clip that enables the magnet to hold other materials. Some possess qualities not normally expected of a refrigerator magnet, such as a magnetic force strong enough to hold a heavy object or many sheets of paper against the door.Depending on the attributes of the refrigerator magnet, the expected benefit will vary significantly, and that will determine its position and purpose. The subjective judgment of the person placing the magnet will also define its position. The person who puts the magnet on the refrigerator decides where it will look the best, do its job and not get in the way when the door is opened. Unless the refrigerator magnet falls off, it is reasonable to expect that its location will be relatively fixed for a long period of time. In a similar manner, employees are given functional positions within a corporation and assigned responsibilities and duties. Some magnets look good together and their relative positions are established to make them visually appealing and functionally beneficial. Once the objects are placed, the refrigerator door enforces their positions.
Immobilization
When placed on the fridge, magnets are not demagnetized; rather, they are immobilized. They retain all of their magnetic properties, but they are unable to fully utilize them. You have heard of animal magnetism; well, there is also appliance magnetism. If two magnets are placed on a kitchen table in close proximity, there will be a reaction of attraction, repulsion and realignment. At some point the magnets will determine where they like to be relative to each other. But when magnets are placed on the refrigerator door, the reaction is somewhat different. The magnets are immediately attracted to the door’s metal, where they immediately stick. The refrigerator is so massive that it exerts its overbearing influence on its porcelain parasites. The refrigerator magnet is no longer capable of exerting its force on any object other than the fridge. No matter what you do to entice the magnets to interact, they cannot. The refrigerator door has sapped their forces and defined their position. The refrigerator magnets’ forces are controlled and are rendered door-mant.
Magnetic Mobilization
Corporations can benefit greatly from the unique abilities and talents embodied in the individuals within the organization. In order to leverage these attributes, individuals must be given the opportunity to move from the “refrigerator door” and interact with others, without the oppressive pull of the Corporate Ice Box. The refrigerator does not intend to immobilize the magnets. It is simply being what it is: a refrigerator. A corporation does not intend to immobilize its individuals, but it is unaware of the oppressive force that it exerts. Corporations have their history, culture and tradition. They also have hierarchy and structure. Finally, there are the documented corporate policies and procedures for all to follow. The company wants its employees to operate in a supportive and interactive environment, and it believes that they are. Regrettably, its vision is clouded and it may have the eyesight of a refrigerator. Try as the corporate leaders may to exhort the greatest value and maximum potential from all individuals and teams, expectations are limited.
If the employees come “off the refrigerator door,” so to speak, where should they go? For maximum contribution to the others, the team and the corporation, they should be provided with an operating environment that is dynamic and will yield the desired results. Cramer’s Cube provides both the methodology and the operational environment that enables individuals to apply their unique capabilities and talents. In the process, team members are given the ability to work collaboratively within a framework that is both passionate and considerate.
Moving The “Magnets” to Cramer’s Cube
The full potential of an individual, a team and a corporation lies in the powerful group dynamics that take place inside Cramer’s Cube. Its collaborative decision-making methodology enables a corporation, university or government agency to define a group dynamic that is easily learned and enthusiastically applied, with measurable benefits to the individual and the organization.
As the diagram conveys, when placed in the energized environment of Cramer’s Cube, each person’s individuality is liberated from immobilizing corporate forces. The methodology guarantees that every individual is fully included in the team’s collaboration and decision process, ensuring that each team member has the opportunity as well as the responsibility to participate in and contribute to the team effort. The influence of each team member is realized, and the contribution of each individual’s unique insight, talent and perspective yields innovative and extraordinary results. Leveraging the power and potential of the individual in this manner results in maximum impact.
Utilizing Cramer’s Cube throughout the organization, executives provide all team members with an effective, even fun, operating methodology that is easily learned and quickly applied—mobilizing and leveraging the power of the corporation’s diversity in the process. The collaborative team environment of Cramer’s Cube provides each member with the opportunity to mobilize his or her individuality and apply its distinctive power, free of the immobilizing presence of corporate structure, culture and tradition. Individuals achieve a sense of pride and satisfaction, seeing that their talents and insight are being applied to practical and important assignments.
The refrigerator and the refrigerator magnets have provided us with a Metaphorical Magnetic Methodology that has great visual impact. The collaborative methodology of Cramer’s Cube provides us with great individual and organizational impact. It enables a corporation, university or government agency to standardize on a methodology that has clear and measurable benefits to the executives. Individuals are liberated and mobilized to freely communicate, collaborate and contribute. Corporations, universities and government agencies can use Cramer’s Cube as the engine to tap the distinctiveness and uniqueness of their people and drive Diversity Asset Management™. The results will have a profound impact on the bottom line.
Vincent M. Cramer is the author of Cramer’s Cube. He is also the founder of The Winchester Consulting Group, an Organizational Development and Training Company specializing in the principles of Cramer's Cube and its application to the deployment of a Diversity Asset Management™ program.
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